Ward saw the success New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore had last season as a rookie and wants to match or exceed the accomplishments of one of his good friends and former Ohio State teammates.

Lattimore had five interceptions and 18 passes defensed en route to earning a Pro Bowl selection and being named Defensive Rookie of the Year.

“It definitely gives me motivation,” Ward said recently as the Browns (0-0-1) prepared for Sunday’s road game against the Saints (0-1). “Marshon, he’s a great player. He had a great season.

“It’s definitely possible (for me to make a similar impact as a rookie). I’ve just got to go out there and compete every day and just work hard.”

The fourth overall pick in April’s draft, Ward is off to a phenomenal start. He compiled six tackles, two interceptions and three passes defensed in Sunday’s season-opening, 21-21 tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers. On Friday, he was named the NFL Rookie of the Week.

“It was nice to see him make plays. It was also a big smile to my face of how comfortable he felt playing in the game,” defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said. “He has some things he has to continue to improve on, some things he hasn’t been asked to do before.

“But making plays at the ball, on the ball, was very good. Has to do a couple more things in the run front, a couple of other things that corners on other teams and other systems don’t have to do, but it was a very positive way for him to get started in the league and how proud he was of now knowing that he belongs or that he becomes closer to belonging.”

His teammates are convinced he belongs. Terrance Mitchell, the Browns’ other starting cornerback, called Ward “fearless,” and Jabrill Peppers, the starting strong safety, said he likes how Ward carries himself.

“He’s not a real talker, but he doesn’t have to,” Peppers said. “His play talks for him. As long as he keeps playing like that, he doesn’t really have to say too much.”

For the most part, Ward was pleased with his performance. Still, he lamented allowing Steelers six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Antonio Brown to make a circus catch in the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown with 8:24 left in the third quarter.

“My expectation every game is to go in and take my man off the field and lock my man down,” Ward said. “I didn’t do that, so I’ve still got things I’ve got to work on.”

Williams called Brown’s touchdown reception “highly earned” and explained Ward’s coverage “was as good as you can almost be, just a small percentage point that he’s usually able to separate the ball at the very end of the play.”

The Browns need Ward, a Nordonia High School graduate, to sustain his high level of play.

When they visit the Superdome, they’ll be pitted against future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees and another Pro Bowler from Ohio State, receiver Michael Thomas, who had 16 catches on 17 targets for 180 yards and a touchdown Sunday in the Saints’ 48-40 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buckeyes careers of Ward and Thomas overlapped in 2015, the year before the Saints drafted Thomas in the second round (47th overall).

“With Michael Thomas and a quarterback who’s deadly accurate who knows how to get their offense up and running, this is another challenge,” coach Hue Jackson said.

As a freshman at Ohio State, Ward covered Thomas during practices. They have kept in touch just like Ward and Lattimore have.

“I’m real close with those guys,” Ward said.

So Ward, 5-foot-10 7/8, knows Thomas, 6-2 3/4, presents a more difficult test than Brown, 5-10, from a size standpoint.

“Antonio Brown was a smaller, faster, quicker guy,” Jackson said. “(Thomas) is big, fast, strong and has a big catch radius. It’s going to be a different challenge.”

The Saints won’t be caught off guard by Ward’s playmaking ability, either. Brees said Ward showed he’s “really talented” by performing well in his regular-season debut, and coach Sean Payton said Ward was clearly among the top cornerbacks in the draft.

“He has exceptional feet — his suddenness, his ability to stop and start and transition. He can run,” Payton said on a conference call. “Those skills are almost requirements at corner, but also there’s a football awareness to him that’s impressive.”

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